LARAMIE – There were roars coming from the crowd for the better part of three hours on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
 
And then an eerie silence for a few moments from the hushed gathering of 25,009 when Kaden Anderson was crumpled on the turf after an agonizing hit from a blitzing cornerback he never saw coming.
 
Wyoming fans can now let out a collective sigh of relief: QB1 is OK.
 
"Kaden Anderson is fine," Jay Sawvel said during his Monday press conference after Anderson underwent a battery of tests over the weekend on what the head coach is describing as a mid-to-upper body injury. "We're all very fortunate that wasn't anything more than what that was."
 
Sawvel said Anderson planned to practice later Monday and barring any setbacks this week "I would anticipate him playing" against No. 20 Utah this Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (6 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
 
Before leaving the game late in the third quarter, Anderson was 17-for-23 passing for 167 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions during the 31-7 victory over Northern Iowa in the home opener.
 
Landon Sims subbed in for Anderson and went 3-for-3 passing for 23 yards and converted a key third down with a 12-yard run to close out the visiting Panthers.
 
"You don't want to go in when somebody gets hurt," Sims said. "He's a great guy, great teammate to be around and it's tough to see somebody go down like that, especially on a hit like that because you see how hard he works. You don't want to see something like that happen. You just pray for him in the moment. I think he's going to be OK. It's just great to have someone like that on your team."
 
The Cowboys (2-0) will be playing a loaded Utes (2-0) team averaging 53.0 points and allowing 9.5 points per game this season.
 
"They don't have a weakness," Sawvel said.
 
UW will have to raise its level of play to meet the moment.
 
The Pokes were relieved Monday that Anderson is expected to lead a balanced offense which finished with 190 yards passing and 189 yards rushing against UNI.
 
"It was a deep breath moment," freshman running back Samuel "Tote" Harris, who had 61 yards rushing and a touchdown in his first home game, said of seeing Anderson go down. "Landon (came in) and everybody is confident in him. He goes through practice like a champ, and I wasn't too nervous, but I was definitely worried about Kaden. I'm glad that he's OK."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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